YATA

History: HOW DID WE GET WHERE ARE?

The inception for Veritcal Artz (VA) started in November of 2107 came as a result of the work done with youths by VA ‘s founder Joseph Stamp Romero in which youths were involved in a theatre project called Varandah Taylz was attached the Youth Advocacy Through Arts (YATA) initiative in 2013. YATA is the social arts arm of Vertical and the initiative sought to gather young people from the southside who had talent and interest in theatre and offer a positive platform for expression using theatrical performance. The approach taken is one that seeks to use the arts as tool for healing traumatic experiences by allowing the participants to explore the pain associated to their past hurts. The youths were involved in workshop focused on theatre performance training and script development and were casted in social productions that explored various social problems like crime and sexual violence associated to youth.

Areas of focus for vertical include but is not limited to:

Theatre

Dance

Music

Arts and craft

Mission: While Vertical Artz is still in its development stage as a program, it will reflect the same values as Youth Advocacy Through Arts but will more focus on the personal development of the youth participating in the program.

“To use the arts as a means of self-development, promoting progressiveand productive behaviour among youths and the wider community within Belize City.”

Strengths:

Using a popular medium as arts to gain youth interest

The reputation of YATA has grown since our first play in 2013

A qualified arts personal available for training

Arts has been proven a effective medium in improving youth behavior

Areas for growth/improvement:

Administrative support

Means of identifying financial support for community programs

More annual workshops to keep youths engaged

Identifying training that come with new perspectives for youths on theatre performance

The psychological development attached to vertical programs needs qualified personnel in that area.